Taosi relics site in Xiangfen, Shanxi Province

The world's oldest observatory, dating back about 4,100 years has been discovered in North China's Shanxi Province, Chinese archaeologists have said.

The ancient observatory in the Taosi relics site is at least 3,000 years older than the 1,000-year-old observatory built by the Maya people in Central America, said He Nu, a research fellow with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The observatory, built at the end of primitive society, "was not only used for observing astronomical phenomena but also for sacrificial rites," he said on Sunday.

The remains of the observatory, in the shape of a semicircle 40 metres in diameter in the main observation platform and 60 metres in diameter in the outer circle, were made from rammed earth in three circles.

Archaeologists inferred that 13 stone pillars, each 4 metres tall, stood on the foundation of the first circle, forming 12 gaps between them.

"The ancient people observed the direction of sunrise through the gaps and distinguished the different seasons of the year," said He.

In order to test the conjecture, archaeologists spent 18 months simulating the observations at the site. To their surprise, the seasons marked by observation at the site were only one or two days different from the seasonal division of the traditional Chinese calendar, which is still widely used in rural China.

A forum on the relics site at Taosi was held recently in Beijing, attracting more than 20 Chinese archaeologists, astronomers and historians.

Most of them agree that the site is an ancient observatory, and some of the astronomers believe that it might also have been used to observe the moon and stars.

The Taosi relics site is located in Xiangfen of Linfen City, and covers an area of 2.8 million square metres.

It is believed to be a settlement of the five legendary rulers (2,600 BC-1,600 BC) in Chinese history.

Astronomical observation and the use of calendars are regarded as symbols of the origin of civilization.

Historical documents show that China had special officials for astronomical observation as early as the 24th century BC; and the Taosi discovery confirms the records.

Wang Shouguan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said China led the world in terms of astronomy in ancient times.

"However, we know very little about China's astronomy in the pre-historic period. The discovery will help the study of ancient astronomy."

Xinhua

(China Daily 11/01/2005 page1)